1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to surgical stands and in particular to a surgical stand for ring-handled surgical instruments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Much effort is taken in surgical procedures to sterilize and count surgical instruments. However less effort is utilized in holding sterilized ring-handled instruments in a vertical position during surgery since current medical practice attempts to balance the ring-handled instruments vertically with the ring-handles extending just over a rolled towel which sits on a small surgical stainless steel instrument table. This practice presents problems since the towel obviously can not hold the instruments securely since it won't mold perfectly or generally to the shape of the instruments. A number of these instruments need to sit along side and touch each other on the towel to maintain the vertical position of the instruments.
The instruments can easily fall over by bumping, doctors throwing instruments which hit these vertical instruments and the small surgical instrument table being bumped or pushed. Not only does this mix-up the instruments, but it also greatly slows and hampers the assisting personnel in the performance of their duties.
A few instrument stands, racks and trays are recognized in the prior art, but none provide a compact, inexpensive and easily used solution to this problem. Prior art patents and catalogs for these stands, racks and trays are briefly described below.
The Meinecke et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 1,538,571 shows a rectangular thermometer holder where the thermometers can rest in specially shaped recesses which protrude upward close to the two ends. This holder is obviously designed for thermometers and can not be adapted to hold ring-handled surgical instruments.
The Bates U.S. Pat. No. 2,018,651 shows a square sterilizing and operating instrument tray which has specially molded clips at one end to hold straight-handled instruments at an angle. The holder in the Bates Patent could not be easily adapted to accept other forms of surgical instruments--especially ring-handled instruments. Even if ring-handled instruments could fit in the loops, they would fall over too easily due to lack of support.
The Son U.S. Pat. No. 2,472,028 discloses a rectangular sterilizing tray for hypodermic needles which is obviously designed for sterilization of hypodermic needles on specially molded forms that can be moved due to being hinged. This tray can not be adapted for other instruments.
The Golightly U.S. Pat. No. 3,484,226 illustrates a rectangular mold for supporting glass sheets in a vertical position using guiding rails. This has little value for supporting surgical instruments.
The Smith et. al. Pat. No. 4,229,420 discloses a surgical instrument rack which comprises two sections that must be separated to load or unload the rack. A wall and partitions are set to one side of the support member upon which ring-handled instruments can be set. It is readily apparent that this rack holds ring-handled surgical instruments but the aperture and retaining member which partially opens the instrument jaws obviously make Smith's Patent better used for sterilization and transport than for use during surgical procedures. When attempting to use it for an instrument stand for surgical procedures, it becomes awkward and difficult to use. The retaining member must be removed before the instruments can be used. Upon opening this could result in the instruments falling out and being contaminated if the tabs get hung up and make opening difficult. If this is constructed from polymeric material the partitions could more readily fracture or break. It has been suggested that the partitions could be cut by hand and removed to allow several similar instruments to touch, support each other and be grouped in the rack. This presents several difficulties: The loops can not be replaced after detached, the instruments can not stand separated for good sterilization, the rack can not be used for other groups of similar instruments with different quantities in each group. Instruments could fall over if groups did not fill the cut-out partition area. If it is disposed of after each use there would be a lot of detachment needed for each new rack used. This rack is not as compact. If constructed from stainless steel the rack would be very expensive--an obvious drawback.
The Surgical Armamentarium catalog, V. Mueller Operating Room Division of Baxter Healthcare Corporation, p. F123 (1988), reveals a spring looking instrument holder and a similar type spring holder mounted on a flat rectangular instrument tray. The difficulties with these type of spring holders are the high prices required to purchase the metal holders, as well as the great possibility that the surgical instruments can readily be inserted into the holder in such a wrong and misaligned fashion so as to get their tips into a wrong compartment of the spring and thus get tangled and stuck in the spring holder. This problem is caused by lack of a complete separation wall between the compartments.
Whatever the precise merits, features and advantages of the above cited references, none of them achieves or fulfills all the purposes of greater simplicity, compactness, economy, stability, easiness of use, convenience, organization, and support of instruments which this present invention accomplishes.